Floating matter thickness measuring apparatus



Feb. 26, 1957 R. D. CROFT arm. 2,782,640

FLOATINGMATTER THICKNESS MEASURING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 4, 1954INVENTORS RICHARD o. CROFT a FRANKLIN VEATCH United States PatentFLOATING MATTER THICKNESS MEASURING APPARATUS Richard D. Croft, ChagrinFalls, and Franklin Veatch,

Lyndhurst, Ohio, assignors to The Standard Oil Company, Cleveland, Ohio,a corporation of Ohio Application January 4, 1954, Serial No. 402,046

Claims. (Cl. 73425.4)

This invention relates to apparatus for measuring the thickness ofmatter floating upon the surface of a liquid.

It has been found desirable in certain instances to determine thethickness of a layer of matter floating on a liquid. For example, alayer of foam may be employed in hydrocarbon storage tanks to preventexcessive evaporation of the contents and depending upon the type offoam employed, a predetermined layer thickness must be utilized toprovide optimum efliciency with a minimum of overloading to precludewasting thereof.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provideapparatus for measuring the thickness of matter floating on the surfaceof a liquid.

This and further objects of the invention are accomplished by providinga weighted container open at the upper end. At least one outlet isformed in the lower portion of the container, this outlet extendingupwardly a predetennined distance alongside of the container to permitthe escape of liquid therefrom when it is above a certain level therein.Means are also provided for lowering and raising the container to obtaina sample of the liquid and the matter floating thereon. In a preferredembodiment of the invention, the container is formed of transparentmaterial so that the thickness of the surface covering may be directlyobserved.

These and further objects and advantages of the invention will be morereadily understood when the following description is read in connectionwith the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of apparatus constructed inaccordance with the present invention taken on the view line 11 ofFigure 2;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the apparatus illustrated in Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating one manner in which theapparatus shown in Figures 1 and 2 may be employed.

Referring to the drawings with particular reference to Figures 1 and 2,a container 10 may be formed from a section of tubing 11, preferablyconsisting of a transparent material such as, for example, a syntheticresin designated by the trademark Lucite. By beveling the upper end ofthe tubing 11, a sharp edge 12 is provided for cutting through floatingmatter as will be described hereinafter. A circular plate 13 closes thelower end of the tubing 11 and may be fastened therein in any mannersuch as by cementing.

Communicating with the interior of the container 10 through openings 14and 15 formed in the lower portion thereof are risers 16 and 17extending towards the upper portion of the tubing 11 and fastenedthereto. For convenience in assembly, such risers may also be formedfrom Lucite tubing that is cemented to the container 10 at the openings14 and 15.

In order to support the container 10 by a cable 18, a ring 19 adapted toreceive the cable 18 is aflixed in a conventional manner such as bysoldering to one end of a 2,782,640 Patented Feb. 26, 1957 rod 20. Afterbeing inserted through the plate 13, the rod 20 is secured therein bydisposing a nut and washer assembly 21 on the other end which has beenthreaded. If desired, the rod may also be cemented to the plate 13.

A weight 22 formed at one end with a diameter slightly smaller than theinner diameter of the tubing 11, is preferably tapered to a point at itslower end. Also provided in the weight 22 is a recess 23 receiving thenut assembly 21. A plurality of threaded holes 24 are machined in theweight 22 to receive a similar number of screws 25 inserted through thetubing 11 to secure the weight 22 therein.

In describing a typical operation of the present invention, referencewill be made to Figure 3 which shows a tank 29 containing a liquid 31with matter 30, shown as a foam in this exemplary operation, floatingthereon. The container 10 may be supported over the foam 30 and in orderto prevent any disturbance thereto at the point of measurement, thecontainer 10 is swung away from this point to a position a, indicated inbroken outline in Figure 3. At the position a, the container 10 islowered by the wire 18 and will follow a path indicated by the arrows 32and 33 to a position b within the liquid 31 and entirely below the foam30. Although the pointed weight 22 aids in cleanly piercing the foam 30,the container 10 will nevertheless carry a small portion of the foam 30into the liquid 31 below the position a as it is lowered. However, itwill be understood that such displaced foam will almost immediately riseto the surface to provide an unbroken covering on the liquid 31.Furthermore, it will be evident that the foam 30 will be undisturbedabove the position b where the container 10 will be completely submergedin the liquid 31.

By raising the wire 18, the container 10 will be withdrawn and the sharpedge 12 will cut into the foam 30. As this occurs, the liquid level inthe container 10 will tend to be carried by the container 10 above thelevel of the liquid 31 and accordingly, such liquid will be forced outof the container 10 through the risers 16 and 17. This action willcontinue as the container 10 is drawn from the liquid 31 with the sharpedge 12 cutting through the foam 31 until the upper ends of the risers16 and 17 are at the level of the liquid 31. After this point isreached, the liquid level in the container 10 will obviously remainsubstantially even with the level defined by the top of the risers 16and 17. Since the foam 30 will float above this level, the length of thesection of the tubing 11 extending from the top of the risers 16 and 17to the sharp edge 12 should be suflicient to measure any contemplatedthickness of foam 30 or other floating matter. After withdrawal of thecontainer 10 from the liquid 31, the thickness of the foam 30 standingin the container 10 may be measured by direct observation through thetransparent tubing 11.

It will be understood that the materials specified for theabove-described apparatus are exemplary only and other similar materialsperforming similar functions may be employed. Thus, it may be desirableto utilize a glass or celluloid container with metal risers. Further, anall metal container may be employed if means such as a suitablypositioned window is provided to observe the thickness of the floatingmatter. Also, one or more risers may be provided on the container tooverflow the liquid therefrom. Furthermore, it is not necessary that thecontainer 10 be cylindrical in form but it may be of any convenientconfiguration including rectangular or oval. Therefore, the invention isnot to be limited to the specific apparatus disclosed herein but is tobe defined by the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for measuring the thickness of matter floating on a liquidcomprising a container open at the upper end thereof, means forming atleast one normally unobstructed opening in said container remote fromsaid open end, and at least one riser extending upwardly from saidopening to a point between the upper and the remote opening, thedistance between said point and said open end being greater than thethickness of the floating matter, said riser when operative adapted toprovide a liquid overflow when the liquid level in said container isabove said point.

2. Apparatus for measuring the thickness of matter floating on a liquidcomprising a container open at the upper end thereof, means joined tosaid container adapted to be engaged by supporting means, means formingat least one normally unobstructed opening in said container remote fromthe upper end thereof, and a riser extending upwardly from said openingto a point between the upper end and the remote opening, the distancebetween said point and said open end being greater than the thickness ofthe floating matter, said riser when operative adapted to provide aliquid overflow when the liquid level in said container is above saidpoint.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said container is cylindricalin form.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which a sharp edge is providedalong the periphery of said open upper end of the container.

5. Apparatus for measuring the thickness of matter floating on a liquidcomprising a container open at the upper end thereof, said containerbeing at least partially transparent to permit observation of thecontents thereof, means joined to said container adapted to be engagedby supporting means for selectively lowering and raising said containerthrough the floating matter and the liquid, means forming at least oneopening in said container re mote from the open end thereof, a riserextending upwardly from said opening to a point between the open end andthe opening in said container, the distance between said point and saidopen end being greater than the thickness of the floating matter, saidriser adapted to provide a liquid overflow when the liquid in saidcontainer is above said point so that upon withdrawal of said containerfrom the liquid, the floating matter will extend upwardly in thecontainer substantially from said point a distance equal to thethickness thereof.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein said container is cylindricalin form.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 in which a sharp edge is providedalong the periphery of said open upper end of the container.

8. Apparatus for measuring the thickness of matter floating on a liquidcomprising a weighted cylindrical transparent container open at theupper end thereof, means forming a sharp edge along the periphery ofsaid open upper end of the container, means joined to said containeradapted to be engaged by a cable for selectively lowering and raisingsaid container through the floating matter and the liquid, means formingat least one opening in said container remote from the open end thereof,a riser extending upwardly from said opening to a point between the openend and the opening, the distance between said point and said open endbeing greater than the thickness of the floating matter, said riseradapted to provide a liquid overflow when the liquid level in saidcontainer is above said point so that upon withdrawal of said containerfrom the liquid, the floating matter will extend upwardly in thecontainer substantially from said point a distance equal to thethickness thereof.

9. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said container is formed of atransparent plastic.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said container is weightedat the lower end thereof by a pointed member adapted to cleanly piercesaid floating matter.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,261,495 Doolin Apr. 2, 1918 1,606,104 Schulueter et al. Nov. 9, 1926FOREIGN PATENTS 511,110 Great Britain Aug. 14, 1939

